October 6, 2014

Hola Everyone

This was one of the fastest weeks of my mission so far. Everything just flew by! I'm not sure if it was because I was so focused on General Conference and helping others go or we were just working extra hard. We had 2 investigators that went to General Conference. One, Bernardita, went to 2 sessions! She didn't really want to go but her sister and brother-in-law (members) convinced her to go. The first time she just went in street clothes but the 2nd session she went in a dress. She said that she felt like she needed to go in a dress, not because anyone forced her. The other investigator, Constanza, also went to 2 sessions but only went because her mom went. We didn't get a chance to really talk to her about it though, so hopefully we can find out what she thought about it. I really enjoyed General Conference. I'm only going to share my thoughts about a few talks that I really enjoyed. Elder Ballard: 1) Stay in the boat because the Lord will guide us right. 2) Always wear a life jacket; study the words of the apostles and prophets. 3) Hold on with both hands; avoid the distractions that surround us that tell us to "leave the boat". Elder Scott: 4 tools to help us stay active and live the gospel. 1) Prayer 2) Daily scripture study and studying the words of the modern prophets 3) Weekly family home evening 4) Regular trips to the temple. I feel like Elder Scott's talk was specifically directed at me seeing as how I will be finishing my mission soon and will be a "normal" person again. And of course, Elder Bednar's talk. I have always enjoyed his talks and this one was especially good. I'm only going to touch on one specific detail. He said that there are a lot of people who think that absolute truths don't exist. They DO exist! And we can know them through prayer and the Holy Ghost. And for those that say absolute truths don't exist obviously haven't read the Bible. It says that "every knee shall bow...and every...should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11). There are many other absolute truths and I know of a few of them. I know that this is the same church that Christ established during his mortal ministry. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that is was translated by Joseph Smith through the power of God. I know these things for myself because God told me so through the Holy Ghost.   That's all I have to say about this week. I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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September 29, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week just absolutely flew by! I really don't know how it is Monday again and time to write all of you. Things were pretty good this week. We were able to talk to Alexis. He was just kind of depressed. I'm not really sure why because a professional soccer team that is pretty good down here just signed him to their farm team (20U). But he didn't show up to church and we haven't had any contact with him since Friday. But hopefully we can teach him and he will be excited to go to General Confrence. Speaking of General Conference, I'm SOOOOOOOO EXCITED for it!!! I'm beyond ready to hear the Prophet and the 12 Apostles speak and give us the direction that we need for the next 6 months. It has been way too long since April. I have been trying to prepare myself for the last week or so and I will continue to do so, so that I will be able to receive the direction and the answers that I need. I invite all of you to do the same as well. I can't really think of anything else because I'm so focused on General Conference. I'm looking forward to be able to share with you my thoughts and feelings on the talks next week. I love and miss you all! Have an absolutely awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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September 22, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was a little bit rougher than what I had hoped it would be. I thought because of the city we would be able to talk to more people and such, but I was wrong. It was basically the same as the year before in Licantén. Most people besides the members of the church were drinking so it wasn't worth much to go talk to them. My birthday was a pretty normal day in the mission, almost all day in the street haha. But it didn't bother me that much. Well we were supposed to baptize Alexis yesterday but he didn't show up to his baptismal interview or church so obviously he didn't get baptized. We're not really sure what happened because the day of the ward activity he seemed fine. He seemed to really enjoy himself but the next day he completely ignored us and wouldn't answer his phone. We just have to keep working with him and find out what happened. Like I said, this week was kinda rough. We didn't have too many lessons because people left to go visit family, touristic sites, etc. But yesterday during planning we set goals to contact the references we have received and to let our faith show through our work. We're going to work and pray extra hard this week and leave the rest to the Lord.

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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September 15, 2014

Hola Everyone

This last week was really enjoyable. I'm with Elder Mendoza (Mexico). We arrived at the mission home the same time I did. So I'm pretty sure that President won't let us die together. We were supposed to baptize a young man this last weekend but his mom had to work so he didn't want to do it. So he will be getting baptized this weekend. This week we will be celebrating the independence of Chile from Spain on the 18th. I'm excited for this week because most people don't have to work so it should be a great opportunity to find more people to teach. A lot of people drink a ton during this week but there are also a lot of people who don't. I'll be sure to send you pictures of the ward activity this week. Something really gratifying happened to me this week. I was able to see Carlos, Rosi, Miguel, Sebastian, Vaitiary, and Martina this week! They were the family that we found when I was with Elder Ramirez about 8 months ago. I was so overwhelmed to see them and see the small changes that they have made. I don't remember if I told you guys or not but Rosi got baptized about 8 weeks ago; Elder Mendoza actually baptized her. When I saw Rosi on Saturday at a stake activity, I just wanted to cry. I could see the difference in her countenance. I could see the happiness that she now has. I could see the difference that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has made in her life. It was such a special moment for me and it just strengthened my testimony of this great work that we are involved in. I may not have been able to attend her baptism or been the one to bapitze her, but that doesn't matter to me; being able to see her and know that she is firm in the gospel is more than enough for me. I know that this is the work of God and that this is the church of Jesus Christ. The gospel is for everyone and can change the life of every single person for the better. I love and miss you all! Have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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September 8, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was kinda slow. We had very few lessons but we were a lot better with being diligent in looking for people. We really tried to talk to more people in the street, outside of their house, etc. As for investigators, we were really only able to meet with Willy. He didn't have a lot of time so we couldn't teach him what we wanted. But we watched a really cool video (https://www.lds.org/youth/video/because-of-him?lang=eng) that talks about Christ. He also came to church yesterday!! It was an absolute miracle in my eyes. He has told us so many times that he probably would never go but he showed up. A lot of people would say that we should have stopped teaching him a long time ago, but like I have said before, not everyone progresses at the same rate and we had felt that we needed to keep teaching him. He will get baptized one day, but I won't be here because we have changes tomorrow. I'm heading back down to Curicó. It looks like I will be finishing my mission there, seeing how I only have 2 changes left. Time sure has passed by quickly. I never understood how people could say that the mission flies by, but I really do understand now. I hope that I can finish my mission strong and help the Lord in whatever way I can. I love and miss you all! Have a great week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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September 1, 2014

Hola Everyone

This week was pretty decent. We were able to teach a few more lessons. I don't remember if I ever told you about a kid named Willy? But we have been teaching him since June. He was basically atheist before but now he is starting to believe in God. His progress is really slow but sure. We watched The Restoration with him and the thing that was most interesting to him was the Gold Plates. He wanted to know everything about them so we basically explained the Book of Mormon to him. He was really, really interested. We read Alma 32:21, 26-28 with him and he understood really well. He admitted that he hasn't been doing everything that he could to help the "seed" grow. But he committed to do his part. I really hope that he will receive his answer. Francisco didn't get baptized this last weekend because he still has a long ways to go (he is working and studying and literally has no time to meet with us besides Sunday at church). We have to talk to him about changing his baptismal date to sometime in October. Things are good here besides the weather. It is seriously bi-polar. It was really warm this last week but now it is freezing and raining. It has been raining hard since about 3 am this morning. I have been really studying the Atonement a lot lately. I still don't comprehend a lot of things but I feel like I have come to understand the Atonement just a little bit more. I don't have much time to explain this week but I will try next week. Love and miss you all! Have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

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August 25, 2014

Hola Everyone

Well this week was pretty much the same as last week. We really struggled having lessons. It's so frustrating to set an appointment with someone and then when you show up they aren't there. That has kinda been the story of my mission so far; finding people but then not be able to find them again. Francisco has been working for about a month and it has been ridiculously hard to meet with him. He wants to get baptized but sometimes he doesn't show that desire because he doesn't come to church on Sunday; the only day that we can talk to him because of his schedule. But we did find a new inactive lady named Barbara and her two children who are not members. They are really, really receptive so hopefully we can start to make some headway with them. The daughter wanted to go to church yesterday but they didn't show up. Hopefully they will come this next week. We also taught a young man named Pablo on Tuesday. He is a Jehovah's Witness and he really liked the idea of having a prophet in our time to guide and help us know what God wants us to do. We have another appointment with him tomorrow. There was a small earthquake here on Saturday. It was the longest one that I have experienced as of yet. It started out pretty slow and so we thought "yeah it's a normal one" but it kept going and then got a lot stronger. So we were kinda confused with what we were going to do but then it stopped like 10 seconds later. I think it registered 6.2 or something like that. It was interesting for sure. Well that's about it for this week. I love and miss you all! Have an awesome week!

With love,

Elder Jayson Welker

Remember who you are and the family name you bear

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Remember who you are and who you represent